Covid-19: Commercial leases and the Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill

Dispute Resolution

Covid-19: Commercial leases and the Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill

The Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill was formally introduced before the Scottish Parliament on 31 March 2020.

Like the UK Coronavirus Act, it protects commercial tenants from termination for non-payment of rent by extending the notice period from 14 days to 14 weeks.

The Scottish Government has reserved the power to extend the 14 weeks’ time limit, meaning that a 14 weeks’ notice could be extended after it had been served.

Any pre-irritancy notices served on tenants prior to the Bill coming into force become void if they haven’t expired.

The Bill doesn’t prevent landlords irritating leases for non-monetary breaches. However, a fair and reasonable landlord would be likely to take into account the impact of the Coronavirus when deciding whether to terminate a lease. There may therefore be very little opportunity to terminate quickly for a non-monetary breach.

Matthew deals with complex and high value real estate disputes for a wide variety of clients, from property funds and corporate occupiers to developers and public bodies. He is especially well known for top end dilapidations disputes.